Tuesday, 11 March 2014

The Benko Gambit: Move by Move by Junior Tay (!)

I am extremely happy to be doing an advert on what has been the first chess book in a long time written by a Singaporean. My co-blogger, Junior Tay, who has been writing incessantly on current affairs in the local chess scene both on this blog and the now defunct Singapore Chess News, has finally put pen to paper to his first book project. I have witnessed first hand how much time and energy he has put in on this book and being the incredily task-focused person that he is, he has managed to complete the project in a little over 6 months, literally spending 4-6 hours on a daily basis.

While the "move by move" suffix sounds like a series for developing players, Junior has done a remarkable amount of research which can be seen from the extensive list of material in his bibliography. More importantly, I am convinced he has moved theory forward which, citing one example, can be seen, in his incredibly detailed analysis of the critical 12.a4 line of the Benko, currently the most fashionable variation in the Benko at all levels. This makes this book a valuable resource for 1.d4 and Benko exponents of all levels.

I am certain he is very proud of the final product, one which is written primarily out of love and passion for a subject that he has studied and used to good effect in many battles over the years. I am sure that the book will turn out to be a tremendous success and I'm very proud to have witnessed its evolvement over the last few months.

You can show your support for good chess writing, from a native Singaporean no less, here or download an extract here.

4 comments:

Junior Tay's book on the Benko Gambit is so good & comprehensively written covering all variations. His book & GM Veskulov's Benko Gambit book "Attack With Black" are my two favorite Benko Gambit books.